It has a , 20-valve (5 valves per cylinder) inline-four engineDOHC producing , or when the other, unused bank of fuel injectors is activated, and over 162&nbsp;hp (120&nbsp;kW) in race trim.

The R7 was built for racing 'out of the box', implied by the chassis, which was derived from information and geometry from the YZR500 machines of the period. The R7 was specified with Öhlins suspension components, a shortened Deltabox II frame and weight of just slightly over the minimum of superbike regulations.

The intentions of the R7 were further underlined, with its designation of "OW-02" and the lack of any pillion/passenger provision.